Surface Finishing Guidebook for Trauma Implants

It is not surprising that trauma implants, along with other medical devices, are subject to the most stringent quality standards. Any material defect or malfunction can have catastrophic consequences for a patient.

For implants, the two key issues for manufacturers to deal with are selecting the right material and attaining the required surface finish. The finishing requirements can range from simple cleaning or deburring to surface smoothing and high-gloss polishing. Components exposed to a lot of tensile and bending stress even undergo a shot peening process to improve their fatigue life.

Some implants must have a textured or “rough” finish to promote osseointegration, which is the attachment of surrounding bone tissue to the implant. Other trauma implants require a very smooth surface to prevent the bone from attaching itself to the implanted material.

We’ve created anotherexclusive surface finishing guidebookto cover this complex topic, in which we will discuss the surface finishing needs of trauma implants and the impact finishes have on their functionality and performance. Examples of mass finishing and shot blasting applications will also be presented followed by detailed machine reports of actual applications used in the industry today.

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